The Exciting world of Construction - Stucco Installation

Welcome to The Exciting World of Construction - Stucco Installation!

Over the next few months, we'd like to share some of our thrilling knowledge with you.  Besides providing some of the most entertaining information you will hear today (wink, wink), our goal is to give you tools to make informed decisions while protecting your assets.

While we find this picture to be fascinating, we know you may not enjoy it quite as much as we do. So, give us a few lines to explain what you are seeing. Your stucco should perform well. It may not have what it takes to make the cut on Broadway but how it performs on your building can make the difference between ducking tomatoes or taking a bow.

Photo Credit -traditional-stucco3.jpg (600×400) (esec-stucco.com)

Lath:

Metal or plastic mesh, (or wood strips in legacy construction) that stabilize cement plaster. Lath is attached to the frame of a structure with screws or nails and the plaster is spread across the surface in multiple coats.

Weep Screed:

The lowest part of the stucco system - A continuous strip at the lower edge of a stucco wall, made of galvanized sheet metal, and designed to provide both a clean bottom edge, but perforated to provide an escape path for water that might penetrate the stucco system above.

Coats:

Scratch, Brown, and Finish coats - Scratch coat is the first and roughest coat designed to provide adhesion to the lath and begin to build thickness. Brown coat defines the final shape of the surface and continues to build thickness. Finish coat may have integral color or may require primer and paint and provides the final texture and aesthetic for the system.

As always, UPSI is here to help you navigate any questions you have about your stucco and anything else that needs inspected, corrected, updated and added.

We are here for you!